Judging Aids
These students have put in a lot of time and effort into their projects. You will be impressed by the quality of research these students and the professional level of their presentations.

However, they are not your colleagues or have the background you may have! Please be gentle in the criticism and give as much encouragement as possible.

The project grading is broken down below:
Category Points Description
Creative Ability and Originality 15 points Does the student have an original idea using a creative approach? Does the student use and/or create equipment properly and adequately? Is there evidence of proper planning and execution? Does the student analyze data properly? Has the study led to a significant result or reasonable conclusions?
Scientific Thought and Engineering Goals 15 points Has the problem been defined, the hypothesis correctly and clearly stated? Have the experimental and investigative variables been recognized and controlled? Have objective measurements been used and has the data properly been entered into the logbook? Have experimental and investigative limitations and sources of error been identified? Are the conclusions supported by the data? Does the student understand the scientific principles and terminology used?
Thoroughness and Skill 10 points Has the project been completed as planned and the purpose achieved? Has the student become familiar with the subject matter by doing proper background study? Have the scope approach been adequate and have alternatives been considered? Has abstract, problem, data and conclusions been properly displayed? Does the student have a proper, understandable application?
Clarity of Project and Display 10 points Is the display neat, spelling correct? Is the overall eye appeal and dramatic effect that which should be expected from a student of this age? Is the poster presentation clear?
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS: 50


QUESTIONING THE STUDENT PRESENTER:
  1. Why did you decide on this topic?
  2. What is the purpose of your project?
  3. What is your hypothesis?
  4. Which variable did you change?
  5. For each variable that you changed (the independent variable), how many trials did you do?
  6. What response did you observe?
  7. What are some of the things you were careful not to let change (the constants) as you did the experiment?
  8. What procedures did you follow?
  9. In your experiment, what was the control? What sample did you use to compare the others against?
  10. What results did you find?
  11. What conclusions did you draw?
  12. How did your results relate to your original hypothesis?
  13. If you had a mentor, in what ways did you mentor assist you?
  14. in doing your library research, what related research did you find that was helpful to you in conducting your project?
  15. What would you do differently if you were to do the project again?
  16. What might you do in the future to continue your project?
Last Modified: February 06, 2006